I think most of us appreciate when pilots communicate transparently with passengers, especially in situations where there are irregular operations. However, this has to be one of the strangest ramblings I’ve ever heard, and I’m not sure what exactly was going through the captain’s head.
Continue reading: An Alaska Pilot’s Bizarre Announcement: Why Is She Even Saying These Things?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Yet another reason we need baseline protections for passengers, because when a situation like this occurs, the airline should ensure overnight accommodations, if necessary, rebooking, and ideally, compensation for the inconvenience, like EU261. Instead, you get a 'sowie' and a 'deal with it.'
We don't have hotels. How did they know when it was just announced ? As far as I am aware LAX immigration /CBP is 24/7 and AS617 was due to arrive at 23:30 anyhow
TBIT’s closing times are actually pretty shocking and upsetting as an LA resident. It is something that if LAX was run by a functional, smart entity they would edit with the government and ensure some buffer for these situations. Even a skeleton crew working overnight should be part of the agreement with USCIS.
My husband was once caught in a 60 min delay that ended up being 5 hours because of this same issue. It’s so weird.
-G
This is another example of too many aircraft , and too few "steady , clear-thinking" people .
Tents and cots are all that is needed , or wanted . If you travel , be prepared for camels needing an occasional water hole .
The announcement is fine. Info conveyed is better than radio silence waiting for a polished announcement.
Funny article, but I see no issue. When I travelled for work I flew over 100k miles per year and heard all kinds of things from 'the front office'. At least you got an interesting story to share. I suppose the implication is that 'nowadays' the world is falling apart (blame whatever....), I just don't feel that way, but thanks for sharing. It must be difficult to come up with subject matter to write about airline travel. Sympathies.
LIBERIA.. REALLY? Or was it SanJose? Or just click bait? Such a poorly run publication.
I'd be 100% fine with this announcement. As an AS Titanium member, I do notice that AS captains and FOs tend to be chattier on the PAs than their counterparts at other airlines. I think it's one of the things that makes Alaska more of a joy to fly; the pilots are in it with the rest of us.
That time of the month?
Hire women pilots and every 30 days you can expect oddities just like this.
More than once I've had to wait on a plane when we arrived early and CBP wasn't open yet. That said, I think it statistically improbable that a 30-year captain would never have encountered this situation before.
I was on the plane when this happened, seat D30. The pilot was nothing but a joy and pleasure and I couldn’t be more grateful for how she got us off the plane fast and kept us informed
Exactly how may international routes does AS flies where this would be remotely applicable?
The only source of information is the printed transcript . Otherwise , no one would know what was actually said . Those intercom announcements are never understood by anyone . The pilot is a talker .
When in Liberia , Africa , or Mexico , one ought to eat and drink only coconuts . ( health )
I was stumped by the phrase “from Liberia (LIR) to Los Angeles (LAX)”!
I’m fully aware that Liberia is NOT a city, but —honestly— my very first thought was: When did Alaska Airlines start flying from Africa to LAX? Did the suits up in the AS C-suite discover some super income-stream potential in that route?
I was on this flight and the lack of accommodation was unfortunate, with the entire situation being frustrating. However, to frame this as if the pilot is responsible for this lack of communication and accommodation seems blatantly wrong. As a passenger on the flight, I appreciated her transparency and ability to speak to us as individuals instead of giving us no information, or speaking off a script. I felt as if I had been informed, and reassured by her consistent updates. If a passenger can’t handle some emotion and honesty in a human to human interaction, it would not be the well-intended pilot’s fault.
Customs is open 24/7 at LAX. Only the administrative offices close. The pilot was correct.
As a paying passenger I do not wish to "handle some emotion and honesty in a human to human interaction" .
If the pilot is talking , then what is the pilot missing ? Myself , I'd rather pilots be aware .
Of course everyone knows Liberia is in Costa Rica. No reason to include that in the story.
Yes customs closes at 12 but why didn’t they use customs at Bradley it’s pretty much always opened.
Agreed ! I fly AS once a month from Florida and love this airline and its amazing crews and inflight service.
Gabe Z, don’t be such an idiot. USCIS doesn’t work at the airport. They work in the offices where they review immigration applications and grant or deny benefits. You must’ve mixed it up with CBP, which stands for customs and border protection. My suggestion for you is to sign up for some sort of adult education classes, maybe at your local learning annex, where they can classically trained your in fact-finding techniques. Otherwise, try to keep your comments to your social media, rather than a serious aviation blog.
I was not aware that Alaska airlines flies all the way to Africa. They don’t even have big plans for that.
Years ago I was on a Great Lakes Airlines Beech 1900 which had been converted from 19 seat to 9 seat configuration (to operate under Part 135 instead of 121). A passenger commented on all the space at the front of the plane due to the missing seats and the Captain said "the company took those seats out so we can fly with less experienced crews." That passenger looked around at the others in the cabin and said "are you hearing this!?"
I see no issue here. She didn’t communicate things that should cause a panic, but that there were real issues that she had to communicate rather than making up some excuse as to what was happening. Honestly the things I see on this website complaining about anything and everything. Some pilots prefer to say less and then passengers end up bewildered when suddenly they return to the gate and deplane. Anyone complaining about too much communication is coming off as entitled morons including the writer, as most articles on here do.
I'm sure he's overwhelmed with all of the things( work related). A seasoned pilot having to work alongside individuals who are inept,unfit, inexperienced, incapable, unskilled and inefficient to do their jobs. He was just venting, hopefully he won't be reprimanded for it Could you imagine, every time you're at work someone else could cause you to lose your life and livelyhood, by no fault of your own? It's probably better to let it out than hold it in.
I’m stumped by you saying you are “fully aware Liberia is NOT a city”.
Are you telling us you don’t know your geography? Liberia absolutely IS a city. A beautiful one, where I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several times.
Believe it or not, pilots are capable of talking and monitoring the situation at the same time. They can also walk and chew bubble gum (well, most of them),
It is both a city and a country. I this case, it was the city (and not in Africa).
Incorrect. It’s not for scheduled pax ops. Anytime a flight arrives before 5am passengers must be held onboard until CBP reopens. The only time it’s open 24/7 is for cargo
Sounds good to me, she was straight up about what she knew was going on.
I would fly with an honest pilot anytime.
It happens, I was on an international flight to Seattle and we had to divert to LAX as we wouldn't make the cut off in Seattle so rather than us sit on the plane they diverted us to LAX to clear customs and then continue like 3hrs later. And that was Alaska.
A simple search for "LAX customs hours" provides the hours of operation. Why lie about this?